Sweet Innocence
by greenkat92
Summary: Could love possibley sprout between a young Sakura and Shino?this is a short story!


The bright sun glimmers through the leafs of a small forest. Birds hang on the branches, singing sweetly in the warm summer air.

"Kitty! Here kitty-kat!!" A young girl's soft voice breaks the surrounding tranquility. I have to find him soon! She thinks to herself as she squints her eyes to see through her shabby pink bangs. She had been searching for her precious kitten since she woke up that morning. Pouting, she sits down by the trunk of a tree, crossing her arms, frustrated. "Sometimes this kitten isn't even worth it!" she says quietly to herself.

"Have you lost something?" the little girl jumps, surprised at the voice. A young boy with bushy dark brown hair and shadowy glasses that were too large for him steps out from behind the tree the girl was sitting by. She blushes shyly, and then slowly stands up.

"Umn, well, you see," she starts off, mumbling, "I've lost my kitten." She says very quietly, her face flushing with color. She keeps her sight on the ground.

"Maybe we can help each other", the boy says, smiling. The small girl looks at his face, curiously.

"What do you mean?" she asks, her shyness wearing away.

"I've lost a pet also," he says, looking away embarrassedly.

The girl flashes a huge smile. "Alright! Let's do this!" the small boy nods and can't help but smile at her eagerness.

After searching for a while, the two return back to where they had originally been talking. Awkward silence falls over the two.

"What's your name?" the girl asks, smiling and tilting her head so that she could see his eyes.

"I'm Aburame, Shino!" The boy says proudly, smiling at her. "What's yours?"

"Me? Well, I'm Haruno, Sakura of course!" she says to Shino, blushing brightly. The birds titter through the branches above.

"Well then, Sakura, we should probably find your kitten soon, it's going to be dark in a couple of hours," Shino said, studying what was visible of the sky above them.

"Your right," Sakura says, following Shino's gaze to the sky. They begin to walk, then Sakura stops, looking at Shino. "Shino, how old are you?" she asks, her curiosity ever present.

"I'm seven" he says, turning to start walking again. Sakura covers her mouth with her hand and starts to giggle. Shino looks at her, almost blushing- what did he say wrong?!

"What's so funny?" Shino commands to know, not sure what to expect- is she crazy?

"Oh- nothing! It's just that we're the same age! Isn't that weird?!" Sakura asks, smiling. Shino smiles at her innocence.

A creature lurks through the bushes, liking it's teethe hungrily. Its ears lay flat against its head, its dark fur raised on its back. Slowly it prowls forward- sighting prey. It draws out its claws, preparing for the kill.

Unaware of the nearby predator, Sakura and Shino continue to walk between the large trees. Slowly, the sun sets lower in the sky and the shadows become larger and darker.

"I can't believe I haven't found her yet!" Sakura pouts; glancing behind her, into the shrubs- did she just hear something? Shino pauses, waiting for her to start walking.

"What's wrong?" he asks, looking at the bushes, then back at Sakura.

"Oh- it was probably nothing," Sakura replies, unsurely, turning back to Shino to start walking again. She smiles hugely to Shino so that it seems alright. He smiles back, but then is worried- what was it?

The predator realizes it was heard and sinks lower to the ground. It's going to have to be more careful. Slowly, like a shadow, it lurks from bush to bush, following its prey. Looking ahead, it notices a tree that was hanging over the path that its prey was traveling. Adrenaline rushes through it as it silently rushes ahead of its prey, while still remaining in the bushes. Silently, the predator sinks its claws into the bark of the tree and begins to climb on the side that was not visible to the prey.

"Maybe we should start heading back to the main part of town," Shino suggests. Something wasn't right, he could feel it. Looking down, he smiles, noticing something. Leaning down, he picks it up and looks it over, putting it in his pocket. Sakura didn't notice this, the was to busy, laughing at Shino again. "What?" he asks, looking at her.

"Is the reason you want us to head back, because you are scared of the dark?" Sakura asks, trying to slow her laughter. Shino smiles and shakes his head, they continue to move forward.

Seeing its prey get nearer, the predator slowly edges out onto the branch, getting low on it's haunches to prepare for the kill.

Sakura looks at the sky, worriedly; maybe they should go back to the town. She continues to move forward with Shino at her side.

The creature see's its opportunity, the prey is almost right below. Bearing its teeth and claws, the predator leaps down from the tree- landing perfectly on the prey. It sinks its teeth into the prey's soft skin.

"What the-?!!!" Shino shouts as he feels something sharp go into his skin. He slams his eyes closed and tries to knock his attacker off. And the only think he can hear besides his own panicked breath is Sakura's laughter. He looks to her, feeling betrayed and tricked- how is this funny?! Shino feels the weight get off of him, he turns to his attacker and see's-

"Here kitty-kat!!" Sakura says in a sing song voice. The small black kitten leaves away from Shino and prances over to Sakura, liking Sakura's face as she picks her up. Shino blushes bright red- was that really what had scared him so much?! He looks away from Sakura, ashamed, and tries to regain his calm and collected attitude. Sakura notices that he turns away and becomes worried.

"Shino, are you alright?" she asks, rushing over to his side, the kitten still in her arms. Why won't he look at me? Shino nods that he's ok. Silence falls again. "Thank you for helping me find my kitten," Sakura says quietly. She leans over and kisses Shino on the cheek, then turns away, her face bright red. It's silent again for a few moments.

"Well, since we found your kitten, we should start heading back now," Shino says, for once shyly. Sakura nods and they turn around to walk back towards the town.

"Oh no!" Sakura exclaims, looking at Shino sadly.

"What is it?" he asks, still very quietly.

"Well, we never found your pet!" Sakura says sadly. "Actually, I don't really remember you even saying what it was!" she looks at Shino, her curiosity showing again.

"Well," he starts, eyeing the kitten cautiously, "I found it while we were looking for your kitten." Sakura smiles at this- but is then confused. Shino reaches into his pocket and pulls out a closed hand.

"What is it?" she asks, eyeing his hand. Shino smiles and open his hand. For a moment- there is silence.

"Aiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!!" Sakura screams as she runs away from Shino and out of the forest towards her house, gripping the poor kitten to her chest. Shocked, Shino just watches her run away- it seemed so slow motion to him. Sadly, he looks down to the palm of his hand.

"I guess it's just you and me then," he says to the beetle that lay there.

The predator struggles against its captors grip as it is carried away from its prey. There goes another meal.

End


End file.
